It was clear that Team Bahamas was leaving nothing to chance, especially after having to dig deep to pull off a nail-bitter in their opening game at the Centrobasket Under-17 Championships.

Establishing the lead from the first quarter was just one key component in the 116-74 win over Costa Rica yesterday. Just like the match-up with the US Virgin Islands, Team

Bahamas dominated the boards, pulling down 29 rebounds. Their shooting from around the perimeter was on point, as the Costa Rican team struggled to adjust to the swift ball movements. The Bahamas is hoping to finish in the top three at the regional tournament in Caguas, Puerto Rico.

So far, the 2-0 win/loss record has them primed to win Group A. Their toughest opponent in the grouping should be host Puerto Rico, who they will face in the feature game tonight.

The teams over in Group B are Mexico, British Virgin Islands, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic. The top two teams from each grouping will move onto the medal rounds, with medalists advancing to the 2014 FIBA Americas Championships, otherwise known as the Tournament of the Americas.

The adjustments made by head coach Kevin ‘KJ’ Major in the second game was quite clear as the team went on a 6-0 run in the opening minutes of the game. At the end of the first quarter, Team Bahamas led by six points and were looking to build. At a blink, The Bahamas had established a 10-point lead in the second quarter. They headed into the locker room with a 13-point lead.

The Bahamas had already outscored Costa Rica in the paint, netting 32-22 points with one quarter left to go. As a team, they scored 30 points in both the third and fourth quarters. The team only gave up 17 points in the third, and 14 points in the fourth. The starting five had a total 90 points. Qyemah Gibson scored 27 points, Shakwon Lewis 24, Jordan Wilson 18 with Charles Bain and Dontae Thomson banging in 16 and five points respectively.

This was a totally different team yesterday. In the game against the US Virgin Islands, The Bahamas only led on the boards. Rashad Davis was the top scorer in that game for The Bahamas netting 20 points, three assists, seven rebounds and four steals. Chipping in with 12 points was Qyemah Gibson who grabbed 15 rebounds and three assists. Jordan Wilson pulled down 12 rebounds and added seven points to his total. Top scorer for the US Virgin Islands was Rashawn Fredricks who had 17 points. His teammate Stephaun Adams added 13 points.

The Bahamas is in a position to win the grouping, if they are successful in tonight’s feature match-up with Puerto Rico. Up to press time, Puerto Rico only had one win and was about to play the US Virgin Islands. No results were available.